The Music Effect
by tehtoast
Summary: Roxas never expected anything special when he went to college, he really just thought he'd go, study, stick to his music and then graduate. He never thought that some green eyed stranger or an organization would change his entire experiance.
1. Chp1 The MoveIn Tango

Chapter 1  
The Move-In Tango

"There's the University."

Sora looked up from his sketchbook at his father's voice. The dark haired man was pointing to the area that stretched out to the left of their van. It was a wide expanse of trees and brick buildings, like something right out of the movies. But it was something that would probably be his home for the next several years.

"That's Kingdom University?"

Sora barely spared his twin brother a second glance. "Geez Rox, did you ever look at Cloud or Yuffie's pictures?" He asked, poking the blonde teen with the butt of his pencil.

Roxas gave a noncommittal sound, brushing the offending utensil away before turning back to inspect part of their new home. It was one of the larger universities on this side of the world, and made up a good part of the city of Hollow Bastion. Besides their dueling team, it was also a school well known for it's academics rather than it's athletics. Roxas wasn't necessarily concerned with the proverbial aspects of the university though, in fact, while he sometimes enjoyed school, he wasn't exactly excited about the whole thing like his twin, who had bounded and yelled with excitement when they received their acceptance letters.

"-called Cloud about an hour ago, he said he had already arrived at the house and was moving the furniture in." The twins mother was saying, answering the curious Sora's many questions. Roxas and their older brother Cloud, had inherited a majority of their mother's looks, while Sora had their father's dark hair. All three siblings, however had Adrianne Strife's bright blue eyes. Sora was the only one that had Adrianne's bright and bubbly personality, when Cloud had their father's, Night Strife's, cool and protective character. Roxas however, had more of a combination of the two, with a rather temperamental twist.

"What is the house that you got for us look like? Is it far from the school?" Sora questioned, his sketchbook falling out of seventeen year old's lap, forgotten.

Adrianne laughed, patting Sora's hand that had reached forward to poke her shoulder. Roxas and Sora's parents had decided, rather than obligate them to stay in the dorms their first semester (and pay for three different housing fees), that it'd be easier to get all three of their children a house to share. "You'll see soon enough Sora."

Sora sighed, nearly whining with impatience, and leaned back, crossing his arms with a well defined pout. "Sora, pouting won't get you anywhere this time. Really, you'll see within the minute." Roxas looked up at his father's voice, meeting the man's amused brown eyes in the rearview mirror. Roxas and Night were the only two people who Sora's pout continued to remain ineffective for. "See look, not even thirty seconds!" Night continued turning into a circular drive.

Roxas quirked a brow, but Sora's jaw seemed to drop halfway to the floor. "Um… dad. Don't you think that's a little much?" he asked, starring at the white brick house that stretched before them. It wasn't huge, but it definitely wasn't small either. It had to hold at least four bedrooms, and maybe two living rooms.

Night chuckled, unbuckling his seat belt as a blonde headed figure appeared at the door. "Nah, besides your mother picked it out. On top of that it was the closest thing to the school that we could fit you three boys in." he replied moving out of the car stretching. Even after sending his oldest son to school two years before, and making the trip frequently for work, he still wasn't used to the three hour drive and thirty minute boat ride from Destiny Island. Though for work, he often flew to Hollow Bastion.

"Besides! Only the best for my boys!" Adrianne stated happily drawing Roxas into a enveloping hug the moment he stepped foot out of the car.

Roxas grunted with a roll of his eyes, glancing warily at the house. "Yeah… only the best." He repeated sarcastically as Cloud approached the car.

Sora gave an almost horrified look. "But it's soooo big."

Cloud gave a slight glare, slapping him open handed on the top of the head, making Sora squeak. "Stop complaining Sora, It's not like you aren't used to it." He followed up, before allowing his mother to hug him tightly. Roxas nodded, their house at home was twice the size of this house.

Sora sighed. "But all the cleaning we'll have to do."

"Cheer up son, it builds character!" Night encouraged, opening the trunk and shoving several boxes into the brown headed boy's arms. Sora stumbled back with a grin, but followed Night as he lead the way up the walk to the bright red front door. "You three always managed while your mother and I were out of town, I'm sure you can handle a home on your own." He continued to lecture, pushing open the door with one booted foot.

Roxas grinned at his older brother who couldn't help but smile and shake his head as Sora's shouts of amazement followed upon entering the house. "So any special features?" He asked, following his father's suit in picking up several other boxes from the back of the van.

Cloud shrugged, grabbing a few bags of his own. "A pool, oh and a dishwasher. That's a nice change from the University apartments." He replied leading the way into house.

Roxas whistled softly at the doorway. He could tell why Sora was yelling now, the house was slightly impressive, or at least for something that was supposed to belong to three teenage boys. He had no doubt that it wouldn't take long for Cloud and Sora to add their own twist to the interior appearance, much to their mother's ambivalence Roxas was sure it would only take a matter of time before Sora found a paint brush and started painting murals on the plain white washed walls. The front door opened into a short entryway where there was a large coat rack, but that lead the way down into a large den-like room. There were a few old couches and a large tv already in place. There was a hallway that twisted to the right, and to the left there was a large dining room and a pair of swinging doors that he had no doubt lead into the kitchen.

"Don't forget to step down." Cloud warned moments before Roxas stepped forward into air. He stumbled forward, nearly dropping the boxes he was holding, but was steadied by warm hands.

Roxas swore under his breath, "Who the hell that decided to place one stair there should be cut down with blunt key blades." He muttered angrily as the hands took the boxes out of his arms. He shook his arms with a sigh turning to look up into cool stormy gray eyes. Roxas gave a start, last time he checked his older brother had blue eyes and blonde hair. It only took a few more moments for the image to click. The man he was starring abashedly at was tall, with shoulder-length, soft brown hair and a scar that ran across the bridge of his nose.

The brown-headed teen infront of Roxas quirked a brow. "That would be a horrid way to go." The stranger responded coolly.

"Oooo Cloud are these your friends you were telling us about?"

Roxas blinked and looked away from the stormy eyed youth at his mother's question, mentally berating himself for not paying more attention to his family's discussion in the van. Cloud gave a nod. "That's Leon," he jerked his thumb in the brown head's direction, "of course you know Yuffie" before pointing at a short girl with chin length black hair and big brown eyes who was stretched dramatically across one of the couches, though she jumped up cheerfully and waved when Cloud mentioned her name.

"Hey Auntie Adrianne! Roxie!" Roxas gave his cousin a weak wave. The only reason he let her get away with that name was because she was family, and wouldn't stop no matter what he did.

"Aerith," he pointed at another girl with long brown hair braided over her shoulder and kind eyes who was sitting straight with her legs crossed on the other couch, "Cid," a rather gruff looking man with short red hair who was chewing on a long toothpick and leaning against the back door, "and Tifa." A tall girl with long black hair and a fierce grin that was sitting on the fireplace.

"I've heard so much about you all, it's a pleasure to finally meet you." Adrianne directed in Cloud's four friends, and her niece's, direction. "Where's Zack, I wanted to see how his mother's doing?"

Cloud shrugged, but grinned at the concern for his best friend in his mother's voice. Zack's mother had been one of Adrianne's friends in high school before Adrianne got married and moved away. "He'll be around sometime I'm sure."

"This fierce little one must be Roxas." Leon stated matter of factly inspecting the blonde pointedly.

Roxas blushed and nodded taking the boxes from the older boy's hands and carrying them to the right down the hallway, looking around. There were two doors, and a set of stairs. He shuffled the boxes under one arm and opened both doors. One opened to another set of stairs that led down. A basement. He sighed and went to the next door. It was a large bedroom, but the bed was already made. Obviously Cloud had claimed it as his own. "Rox! Come on! Look upstairs, it's cool! There's like three bedrooms up there! Dad said we could use one as a studio!" Sora, appeared at the base of the stairs pulling on his twin's free arm.

Roxas took a deep breath and climbed up the stairs after his brother. It was going to be a long and interesting year, he could already feel it.

--

"I'll be in the studio next week, so I'll come by and see how you three are doing." Night informed them towards the end of the day. Between them, the twins, Cloud, Yuffie and their friends, they had managed to get the house into some small semblance of order, and now Adrianne and Night were getting ready to leave.

"I left some cash in the kitchen so you can go to the grocery store." Adrianne added, hugging Roxas to her tightly.

Cloud chuckled hugging his father. "Relax mom, we can handle it." He told her as she finally released Roxas, who wheezed for breath, and moved on to crush Sora.

"I think that's what she's afraid of." Night laughed.

It took almost thirty minutes for Night to convince his wife to get in the car so they could get home before it got too late. Finally with one last crushing hug, they were driving away. "She's probably crying now." Cloud sighed, crossing his arms, light blue eyes trained carefully on the disappearing car.

"She always does." Sora grinned.

"Sounds like someone we know." Roxas responded quirking a brow at his twin who had gotten teary eyed himself.

Sora stuck out his tongue and turn to run inside of the house, wiping at his eyes. Roxas exchanged a grinning glance with his older brother, then followed his twin in. "Cloud! Help me out!" Yuffie yelled when the brother's entered the house again. She was hanging on Leon, pulling at his white t-shirt insistently. "Who would win in a fair one-on-one fight? Professor Auron, or Professor Sephiroth?"

Cloud snorted sitting down on the couch beside the annoyed brown headed teen, who was shooting Yuffie an angry look. "What makes you think that that COULD be a fair fight?" he asked quirking a brow in Leon's direction, who rolled his eyes in reply.

Yuffie pouted. "Assuming that there could be silly!"

Cloud gave a one sided shrug, glancing at Roxas who was in the corner of the room, shifting through some backs. There was one guitar case slung over his shoulder, and he emerged with another case, and a rather exasperated look. Obviously Sora had brought in those bags, and had just slung them in a random corner. "I don't know, it depends on several different elements."

Yuffie gave a well pronounced 'hmph' and crossed her arms dramatically. "You two are no fun. If Reno were here-"

Cid clamped a hand down on top of her head, making the short girl squeak. "But your boyfriend aint here, so there's no use whinin' about it." He ordered, receiving a glare in response.

"When is Reno coming anyway?" Tifa asked as the animated conversation that she and Sora were having fell away, Sora at full attention. Reno was someone he knew, after all he always accompanied Yuffie on one of her rare trips home.

Yuffie cheered instantly. "He and his little brother got an apartment, so they're moving in tomorrow."

"So we finally get to actually see the little brother?" Tifa questioned.

Sora tilted his head. "He has a little brother?"

"I swear he's the invisible, non-existent brother." Cloud insisted.

"He's been here a year, and we have yet to meet him?" Leon agreed with a nod.

Yuffie giggled. "You probably have, just don't know it. They're exactly alike."

"Anyway, he said he'd meet us for lunch tomorrow." Cloud sighed, shaking his head.

"So what ARE we doing tomorrow Cloud?" Sora questioned as Roxas leaned against the armrest of one of the couches.

Cloud opened his mouth with the intention of giving a sarky retort, but sighed when two sets of deep blue eyes regarded him expectantly. "I'm going to make sure you know the campus intimately, so I don't get frequent phone calls about being lost." He replied with a slight grin.

Sora blushed lightly in response while Roxas tried to hide a snicker behind his hand. "Will you two ever let me live that down?" he snapped pouting and crossing his arms.

Both brothers burst out laughing at that as Cloud's friends watched with curious amusement. "What happened?" Tifa finally asked as Yuffie gave an awkward giggle.

"Sora got lost during a vacation to Twilight Town, and ended up wondering into the Red Light District." Cloud explained, attempting to calm down his laughter.

It only served to turn Sora redder. "She was a very nice lady." He huffed, crossing his arms with a pout.

Roxas snorted. "She was a prostitute."

Sora rolled his eyes. "She was a very nice prostitute."

At that everyone erupted into laughter, even Sora couldn't help but grin sheepishly. "You know… I'm still not sure that she WAS a she." Cloud commented, as Roxas pulled himself to his feet and made his way past to the hallway, which gave Sora an opportunity to throw the attention off of himself. Not that he minded attention, he'd just prefere it when it wasn't for the sake of his embarrassment.

"Rox! Where ya going?" Sora piped up.

Roxas looked back, sighing inwardly. He had been hoping to just sneak by unnoticed while everyone was distracted. Not that Cloud's friend's annoyed him or anything, but he just wanted to be alone, get settled in for a bit. He held up one guitar case with a quirked brow. "I see that Roxas must have gotten some of the music genes in your family." Aerith commented with a bright smile towards the blonde twin.

Sora's laughter turned into a snort. "Some? No, Roxas got ALL of the music genes." He exclaimed.

The other blonde brow quirked to match the first when his gaze shifted to Cloud who grinned and nodded. Roxas sighed, of course his brothers would deem him the musical one, his family never left him alone about it, especially their father. It wasn't like he tried. "Cloud can play too." He offered with a wave of his hand towards his older brother.

Cloud laughed slightly, and judging by the looks that his friends gave him, he didn't show it off often. "Sure. Somewhat. But nothing like you." He countered with a roll of his eyes, waving off his friend's questioning gaze. Only Leon sat passively by, watching the exchange with a hint of amusement.

Sora's laughter died off slightly, giving Roxas an almost evil grin. "Yeah, Roxas is a musical genius!" he gushed. "I however can't carry a tune if my life depended on it!"

"Tsh," Roxas turned his back to his twin, "You can't complain, none of us can draw like you can." He shot back, climbing the stairs without another word towards the group behind him. He knew that Sora was giving one of his sheepish grins, judging how Tifa and Aerith jumped on him to see some of is artwork.

He took a deep breath when he reached the top of the stairs, looking around at his new home for a moment before moving into the room Sora and their father had designated their studio. He gave a start when he crossed the door way though. The surprise on his face didn't last long however, slipping into a pleased grin. Now he knew where his father had disappeared to earlier that day. The room was divided cleanly in half. On the left, Sora's wide and slanted artist's desk was set up underneath the window, along with his well used office chair that he always spun around in. In one corner there was a tall easel, and a tall shelf of art books and supplies. In the other corner sat Sora's computer, complete with his scanner and tablet.

On the opposite side of the room, his father had set up all of Roxas's sound equipment, his keyboards, computer, and stands for his guitars. Both setups were arranged neatly with a precision of professionalism that only Roxas's father could have accomplished. He sat down and gingerly unpacked his guitars, and setting the cases neatly to the side before turning around to play on the keyboards a bit.

By the time he had only reached the third chord of a song he had written a few years back, Sora strolled into the room with his hands behind his head. "It's amazing isn't it?" He asked throwing himself into his chair and giving it one good spin. "Father said it was a birthday gift."

Roxas nodded sitting back in his own chair and stretching his arms out. It was a great gift, even if their birthday was still a month from now. It was a far cry from anything they had at home, where Roxas either had to borrow his father's studio, or cramp everything into his own room. "It's going to be weird… different from home." He stated glancing at his twin.

Sora shrugged, standing with a grin. "Of course, but that's what makes this half the adventure… who knows what will happen." He exclaimed throwing his arms out in exaggerative gesture. "Now let's go to bed! I WILL get you and Cloud up early."

Roxas scowled but followed his twin out of the room, turning the light off as he left. "Do that and you'll die a horrible premature death." He threatened good-naturedly.

Sora laughed, poking Roxas's side far too used to his twin's threat and grumpy morning moods. "Good night Rox."

The blonde twin sighed and reached up to flick Sora's forehead. "Night Sora." He replied turning into his room, the door falling shut behind him with a click. With one glance around the room, he changed into his pajamas and threw himself onto his bed with a yawn. Sora was probably right, his naïve way of life and beliefs had always, to everyone's constant surprise, been accurate. Who knew what would happen now.

His father had warned him that college would be a new experience.


	2. Chp2 A New Breed

Warning: Yaoi, several boy on boy parings. Be prepared.

Disclaimer: OF course I dont own Kingdom Hearts, trust me, you'd know if I did.

I just realized that I never did give a disclaimer or warning to my first chapter. Oh wells, I'll go back and fix it later. Anyways, I'm always open to reviews, or opinions. I like input, it's what makes the world go round. Nothing works properly without some form of communication

Chapter 2

A New Breed

Roxas knew the moment he heard a door slam shut the next morning that he should be thankful he woke before his twin. Sora was in a cheerful mood… as always. He could also bet that his twin would be even more chipper when he realized that Roxas was already up and ready.

His suspicions were confirmed when Sora bounded into the studio where Roxas was working with a new music mixing program he had gotten over the summer. "Rox! You're up!"

"Sora! You're observant!" Roxas grumbled in response.

The brown-headed teen grinned and clasped his hands behind his head. "Come on grumpy guts! I smell coffee!"

Roxas groaned, but followed Sora out of the room and down the stairs, only under the presumption that coffee sounded good and promising for his muddled head. "Sora, are you aware that you are way too awake for it to be nine o'clock on a Saturday morning?"

"Are you aware that he wave this conversation every Saturday morning?" Sora countered smartly, trotting into the kitchen as if he were dancing.

Cloud chuckled at the conversation as the two entered the kitchen, looking up from his cup of coffee and the newspaper he had been pouring over. "Seriously Rox, nearly eighteen years you should be used to Sora's odd morning cheerfulness."

Roxas couldn't help but give a slight smirk. "I am." He shrugged, hunting through the cabinants for the cups. "I just feel that it's my duty to inform my twin about how un-human-like he is." He continued, succeeding in finding the cups with a nod of his head.

"I'm more human than you are." Sora argued with a pout as his twin handed him a coffee mug.

Roxas snorted in response as Cloud grinned. "Cause that makes total and complete sense." Roxas added, pouring some coffee into his mug while Sora filled his halfway with milk and cream. If one could name one extreme difference between the two, it was how they drank their coffee. Roxas drank his with precisely two sugar cubes and a pinch of cream, however Sora drank his in a way that had people asking him if he wanted some coffee with his milk and sugar .It was often half cream, milk and sugar, and half coffee, if even that. It was something that always made Roxas gag as he watched.

"Oh by the way Sora… mum called and said to tell you that your editor is trying to get ahold of you." Cloud offered casually, quirking a brow when the oldest twin choked into a large gulp of coffee-flavored milk.

"What-What'd she say?" he managed while Roxas abandoned his cup to beat on Sora's back.

Cloud shrugged. "Something about the next twenty pages being due Wedensday." He replied absently as Sora groaned and Roxas returned happily to his coffee. "Oh… and mom gave her our address."

It was Roxas's turn to laugh while Sora seemed less than amused. "Seriously?" there was a slight pause, and then a deep sigh. "Of course she would." He muttered before giving a dramatic sigh. "I can't escape!" he exclaimed loudly throwing his one free hand into the air dramatically.

Folding his paper, Cloud gave well-pronounced smirk at his younger brother's dramatics, and stood with a stretch. "Well you can worry about that tonight, since your both up and ready why don't we get an early start? Go grab your schedules and we'll go."

Roxas frowned at the thought of actually having to do something today and drained his mug, eyeing his twin who was pouting into his own mug. "No use getting all bent out of shape, it's your fault for taking the job and then procrastinating." He ordered, washing out his mug and setting it to the side.

"But I'm going to be at that desk all night if I don't want to have to do it during school." Sora whined following Roxas's suit, pouring the rest of his coffee-milk down the sink, and flushing the cup with water.

The blonde clamped his twin on the shoulder before moving out of the room. "You'll find a way, you always do."

--

One thorough exercise-of-a-tour later, Sora was collapsing into Yuffie's arms when the three brother's entered the University's spacious café. "And to think we only went through my classes." He exclaimed as the short giggling girl guided him to a large table where Tifa and Aerith were already sitting.

"And the Library, and the Technology Center, and the Counseling offices." Cloud corrected with a grin, sitting down beside Aerith.

Roxas nodded, taking his own seat as Sora plopped down into the chair next to him with an exaggerated sigh. "And we have two classes together, so we only have to find three more."

"Five classes huh?" Tifa asked handing the boys a menu. Roxas gave a shrug but nodded. "That's awfully brave, I didn't dare more than four my first year."

Roxas gave another shrug. "Most of them are music classes, so I thought I could manage." He replied absently.

"Most of them are music classes? Shouldn't you work on your basics first?" Aerith asked curiously, leaning forward in her seat with smile that said she was genuinely interested.

Roxas blinked at her and then glanced at Sora who shrugged. "Rox tested out of most of his basics. Believe it or not, he was near the top of his class at Destiny High, Sora wasn't far behind him, he was just too lazy to study and test out of most of his." Cloud answered idly for them.

Sora gave a silly docile grin in response while Roxas stretched, trying to ignore the amused looks Tifa and Aerith were giving him. "Yo! You started without me!"

Tifa sighed loudly, but exchanged a smiling glance with Aerith, while Yuffie jumped up with a laugh, throwing her arms around a tall red head. "We've only just ordered drinks Reno, calm it." Cloud responded, standing to shake the other young man's hand, who promptly pulled him into a hug.

"Hey! It's two of my favorite twins!" Roxas glanced up with a smile at the red head, while Sora beamed and waved merrily in greeting. Reno was perhaps one of the easiest people for the twins to like. He was a tall and lanky teen with long unkempt red hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. There were two symmetrical tattoos on his cheekbones that some how seemed natural. He was humorous, loud, and genuinely fun to be around. A perfect match for their cousin, though Roxas and Cloud often found them to be a bit too much if around too long, especially when you added a Sora into the mix.

"Yo Reno." Roxas greeted with a grin and a flick of his hand.

"So Reno! Where's that illustrious little brother of yours that we never seem to meet?" Cloud asked resuming his seat, moving so that Reno could sit next to his cousin.

Reno snorted waving his hand. "I made him drop me off here, he's going to park and come eat lunch with us. I doubt I'll see him much after this weekend." He replied jovially, waving over a waiter and placing a drink order.

"Because you're a lazy ass." A voice somewhere behind Roxas spoke up, Sora almost jumped out of his seat, and then laughed, clasping his hands behind his head as if nothing had happened.

Reno grinned, "And guys, that is my brother-"

"Are you two twins?" Sora interrupted, dodging a smack from Cloud as a reprimand for the rude interruption. Roxas turned to look up at the newcomer, and had to admit, he agreed with Sora. The stranger and Reno looked exactly alike. They were both tall and lanky, with the same bright red hair. The new comer's was a bit shorter, loose and had long spikes going every which way. Like Reno he had symmetrical tattoos, only his were reverse teardrops under each vivid green eye. He blinked, the stranger was oddly attractive.

Both red heads laughed loudly, "My little brother, Axel yo." Reno corrected, to which Sora blushed, giving a small smile. "Bro, this is Yuffie's cousin's Cloud, Roxas and Sora. That's the legendary Tifa, and the mommy of the group Aerith."

Axel gave a two-fingered salute, stretching down into the seat next to Roxas. "Nice to meet ya."

"The invisible brother emerges!" Tifa exclaimed, inspecting him.

"My magic spell wore off." Reno shrugged.

Axel gave a wide grin. "Doesn't mean I wont embarrass him still."

"What's your major Axel?" Aerith interjected, leaning forward again in her seat as if to get a better inspection of the newcomer.

Axel shrugged. "I haven't quite decided yet, I'm just getting my basics out of the way. It will be something to do with music." He responded, taking the drink the waiter, who seemed to appear out of nowhere, handed him.

"Roxie's a music major too!" Yuffie countered, reaching across the table to ruffle Roxas's already messy hair.

Roxas winced at the name but swatted his cousin's hand away lazily. This wasn't anything new to the blonde, Yuffie seemed to have fun messing with the more solemn of the two twins. "Music business." He corrected, fighting off Yuffie's hand that was still trying to grab a lock of his hair until Reno finally wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back into her seat.

The younger red head turned to eye Roxas curiously. "What do you want to do?" he asked with a slight smirk after a few moments.

The blonde twin flushed slightly under the gaze. Were green eyes usually that intense? If so, Roxas had never noticed it before. "Well preferably I'd like to stay in production, or run a recording studio." He replied drawing his eyes away from the red head.

"Hey! So is Zack coming back?" Reno blurted as if it had been a forgotten thought, drawing Axel's attention, and profound gaze, away.

Letting out a deep breath, Roxas leaned back in his seat, pulling his soda to his lips for a deep gulp. Cloud's best friend seemed to be a popular subject among them, judging by the way everyone suddenly jumped into the conversation. Or rather, it was popular to tease the blushing Aerith, who was apparently the object of the missing teen's affections.

"You think he's cute don't you?" Sora leaned in close with a whisper, the moment he was sure that the elder teens at the table weren't paying attention. Roxas could tell by the way his twin was eyeing the group pointedly, not bothering to think about how suspicious he looked.

Roxas rolled his eyes. "I'm not exclusively gay like you remember?" he countered in an equally silent tone. Sora snorted and rolled his eyes turning back to listen in on the conversation Cloud, Reno and Axel were having. A gesture that told Roxas his brother wasn't finished with the subject, but would be nice enough to save it till later. To say that Roxas was exclusively straight wasn't exactly correct either. To be perfectly honest Roxas just didn't date like other kids his age, he had never had the desire too. The only crush he had ever had, ended really quickly, and she moved away soon after. His mother often said that the right person would come along randomly, and it would all quite literally slap him in the face. Roxas highly doubted that, he just wasn't interested in those things kids called relationships or dating.

Several minutes later the conversation turned to who the next candidates were for the top fighters on the dueling team, as the waiter sat food infront of the small company of university students. "Professor Auron was telling us about a few of the candidates the other day at practice." Tifa conferred with a wave of her fork.

Cloud nodded in agreement. "Yeah, he was showing us a few of the applications. There were a few promising ones. I myself personally know one, who with a bit of training and a lot of practice, could take my place."

Roxas looked up from his hamburger with a grin, knowing exactly who Cloud was talking about. . "Don't let Hayner hear you saying that, it'd get to his head." He informed his older brother with a quirked brow. Roxas's best friend was perhaps the exact opposite of Cloud, he was loud, obnoxious, and impulsive. But Cloud was right, Hayner had a real talent when it came to fighting. Hayner, Roxas, and Sora had grown up learning to fight with Cloud, but over time both twins had branched off into their own area's of interest.

The elder strife brother chuckled but shrugged in eased agreement. "Yeah, never tell the kid he's got talent, he'll get lazy." Of course, both Roxas and Cloud had experience with that, despite Hayner's determination, he definitely did better with motivation.

"Speaking of talent, I take it you play an instrument Axel?" Sora questioned, leaning around Roxas to stare at the red head.

Axel swallowed a bite of his hamburger and gave a little one shoulder shrug of his own. "Depends, class instruments or pastime?"

"Both?"

The younger red head grinned. "Well total, I'm a bassist. For band I usually play a double bass, but every now and then I'll pull out the electric. For my rock ensemble class and just hobby I stick to my electric." He explained picking up his soda to take a drink.

Sora nodded thoughtfully. "Do you do any vocal work?"

"Some, I'm alright, mostly back up. I prefer harmony work though."

"You should do a duet with Rox sometime, he's got a killer voice." Sora commented lightly, turning back to his food, purposely ignoring the death glare he knew his twin was sending his way.

Axel chuckled, eyeing the blonde, who had consequently flushed again in embarrassment and turned to stare at his half-eaten hamburger. "Yeah, maybe I should." He replied with a slow grin.

Roxas coughed, stuffing a fry in his mouth. "So you're in a rock ensemble?" he asked, swallowing down the fry, as Axel nodded, "Me too."

"Wouldn't it be funny if you were in the same one." Tifa commented lightly. "I bet you are."

"That would be ironic." The red head nodded, then turned back to his hamburger. "If not, we'll have to play together someday just for fun."

"Oh yeah, you should come see Rox's set up, it's pretty sweet." Sora continued, expertly avoiding the kick that his twin had sent his way. Roxas wasn't usually this pressing when his brother started bragging, but he didn't necessarily want this red head to think that Roxas wanted competition or anything of that sort.

"Hey Cloud! It's only Saturday, how 'bout a video game night yo? Leon and Cid'll be off of work. I know Vincent's in town and we could try to get a hold of Zack." Reno cut through the conversation, as always.

Cloud looked thoughtful for a moment, before shrugging. "Sure, I'll offer our house, is that okay with you two?" he glanced at his two little brothers. Sora nodded with a wide grin as Roxas quirked a brow but shrugged. "Great, I'll let you all be responsible for food and drinks though, we haven't gotten around to grocery shopping yet."

"Tifa and I can do that." Aerith interjected with a sigh. Video game nights weren't exactly her thing, but the boys were definitely fun to watch, besides she wouldn't ever deny a chance to cook for everyone, it was one of her favorite hobbies.

Yuffie clapped her hands. "Video game night it is!"


	3. Ch3 Stability in Spite of Change

Warning: Yaoi, several boy on boy parings. Be prepared.

Disclaimer: I dont own Kingdom Hearts, Trust me, You would definately know it if I did

Chapter 3

Stability in Spite of Change

The video game 'party' went off without a hitch. Roxas surprised everyone, except his brothers, by asking Aerith if he could help her cook, and then doing just as good as she did without instructions. Of course he made a point of saying that his brothers could cook just as well, but Sora just preferred baking and desserts. Zack showed up, much to Sora's excitement. Zack had become Cloud's best friend when the twins were only five, and they had pretty much adopted him as another older brother.

They had the opportunity to get to know Cloud's friends more, so Roxas figured he'd at least try. He had a feeling that they would be over a lot, judging how comfortable everyone was in the new surroundings. They even got to meet another one, though Roxas wasn't sure if it was possible to get to know the quiet young man. Vincent was definitely handsome and mysterious. His long dark hair and dark eyes only added to the air, but he kicked everyone's ass on the first person shooter games they played, without shame.

After that the weekend seemed to fly by, and the next thing Roxas knew, it was Monday morning and Sora was pounding on his door to wake him. He groaned and pulled the blankets further up over his head, but the persistent pounding didn't cease. Finally Roxas gave in and gathered his energy, pulling himself out of his bed to open his door to a smiling Sora. His twin was already up and ready, wearing a pair of black baggy shorts, a bright blue t-shirt and a red sweater-jacket. "Let me guess, you forgot to set your alarm clock?" the brown-headed twin asked crossing his arms over his chest.

"No I didn't." Roxas grumbled turning back into his bedroom to collapse back into his bed.

"But you forgot to turn it on, considering it's 8:30 and we have twenty minutes to get to class."

"WHAT?!"

Sora laughed and shut the door as a pillow came flying en route of his face as Roxas cursed loudly. "Go take a shower. I'll make you a cup of coffee." He called. The routine was nothing new to the twins. Roxas frequently forgot to set his alarm clock, and always ended up rushing through his shower and getting ready, then running downstairs and gulping down the cup-o-caffeine that his twin usually handed him, rather than getting to enjoy it like any proper coffee drinker should.

"It's nice to know something's don't change." Cloud commented, swinging his bag over his shoulder as Roxas bounded down the stairs wearing his baggy khaki jeans, and a fitting black t-shirt with some miniscule band logo on it. He took the steaming mug that Sora wordlessly handed him with a nod in thanks.

Roxas glared at his eldest brother in response, over the edge of the mug of course. "We should just buy some disposable coffee cups so he can take it with him." Sora replied absently, picking up two bags that lay on the kitchen table.

Cloud gave a one-shouldered shrug, pulling on a black jacket over his button down maroon shirt, and dark jeans, and then pulling his car keys from his pockets. "Come on, I'll drop you off at your class to save time." He ordered, leading the way out of the kitchen.

Sora handed Roxas's bag to the blonde and shrugged his onto his back. "What's our first class again?"

Roxas sat the now empty mug to the side and pulled the strap of his bag over his head so that it rested on his shoulder, across his chest. "History." He replied gruffly, following his brother's out of house and into Cloud's black car in the driveway.

"Oh right… that one. My favorite." Sora stated sarcastically, climbing into the passenger seat.

"No, my favorite, your worst." Roxas responded automatically as closed the door of the back seat and he buckled his seatbelt.

"I was being sarcastic."

"I know, pointing out your weaknesses."

Sora shrugged, clasping his hands behind his head so that Cloud had to duck his own head with a grunt so that he wouldn't get hit. "True. I don't like history, what's in the past is the past, and it should stay there."

Roxas frowned slightly, looking up at his twin whose intense blue eyes were trained on the scenery passing them outside. Cloud seemed to have the same thoughts as he risked a look away from the road at the brown-headed twin. Roxas knew where his twin got that statement from, and why he had said it, but he was also unsure about how truthful his twin was really being. Sighing he tore his gaze away and glanced out the backseat window, towards the university. Darkness of the past could only last so long, and it should stay there, like Sora said. He supposed time would tell. That factor seemed to hold a prevalent presence in the three Strife Brother's these days.

"Dad's helping me buy a motorcycle." Cloud's sudden voice broke the silence that had fallen, interrupting Roxas's thoughts.

Both twins blinked in surprise. "What?"

"Cid and his father own an auto shop, and they offered me one of the motorcycles that was abandoned at their shop, it needs some fixing up, but it's in perfect condition." He replied, turning onto a street on the University campus. "This car is already paid off, so Dad decided that I should give it to you two to share."

Sora shared a startled look back with his twin. "Really?"

Cloud nodded, shifting his blue eyes over momentarily to his brothers. "I just thought I'd let you know, because Cid told me last night that it would be ready soon." He added idly, breaking in front of the large history building. "Now get out and don't be late."

Sora bounded out of the car, seemingly ten times more cheerful than he had originally been, if that was possible. Roxas rolled his eyes but couldn't help but grin as he got out of the car. "Dude! I cant believe we're getting a car!" he exclaimed as Cloud pulled away.

Roxas turned and lead the way into the building, pushing his hands into the pockets of his pants. "Dude, I cant believe actually need a car." He countered to which Sora laughed and shrugged. On Destiny Island where they spent most of their life when they weren't traveling with their father, using cars were left to the elderly. It was better and easier to walk to your destination.

Roxas found that it was easier to navigate the University buildings than he had thought during their brief tour. When the twins reached their classroom, they were still relatively early, despite his late wake up. Sora wasted no time in finding a seat at the back of the room, leaving the seat in front of him open for Roxas to take, like they did in high school. "You know Rox, I never did ask why you didn't test out of history." Sora leaned forward.

Roxas slung his bag next to his seat and turned to look back at his brother, his back to the classroom door. "You know that History is my favorite subject, I figured it'd be interesting to see a college level class."

Tilting his head, Sora grinned. "You're gonna get booored. You always do." He commented in a sing song voice.

Roxas shrugged in reply. "If I do, it'll just give me more sleep time." He stated absently. He did often get bored in redundant classes, or at least classes that he felt were redundant. He usually used those classes to catch up on his sleep or maybe work on a new song.

Sora suddenly sat up and waved at someone behind Roxas. The blonde turned and caught a flash of red as his brother spoke. "Hey Axel!"

The lanky red-head paused as he entered the room, eyes sweeping over the twins, lingering slightly on the blonde. "Good morning." He greeted just as cheerfully, turning to speak to someone behind him, before walking further into the room. The red head was wearing a pair of black, baggy, faded jeans and a black t-shirt with an awfully familiar band logo on it. Roxas blinked and turned to glance back at Sora with a quirked brow.

The brown headed twin grinned mischievously as Axel approached, the stranger he had been speaking to following him back. "Nice t-shirt Axel."

Axel looked down into the grinning blue eyes with a quirked brow of his own. "Thanks. You like Night Strife?"

It was Sora's turn to spare his twin a glance, who shook his head and rolled his eyes at Sora's antics as Axel sat down beside him. "You could say that." Sora replied slowly turning to inspect the young man that had followed Axel into the room.

Axel seemed momentarily confused but apparently pushed it aside in favor of his friend who was taking his seat next to Sora. The young man was taller than the twins, like Axel, but definitely more muscular than his lanky friend. His long silver-purple hair that seemed unnatural was pulled back into a high ponytail, the end still almost brushing the top of his shoulders. His loose jeans were a faded blue and hung low on his waist, revealing a hint of black boxers and his fitting black and yellow shirt emphasized the aqua color of his eyes. "Riku, wonder twins, Roxas and Sora. Guys this is my friend Riku."

The silver headed wonder gave a nod to each twin in turn. "Nice to meet you." His voice was calm and cool. Roxas regarded him for a moment then smiled slightly in greeting before turning to face the front of the room, as a man, who was unmistakably the professor walked in, setting his briefcase on the large desk in front of the room.

The older man's short black hair was streaked in light gray, though somehow it made him look extremely cool. There was a jagged scar that ran down his right eye, which insinuated blindness in the closed sight. He was tucking a pair of round rimmed sunglasses into the pocket of his red button down shirt, and slinging a black suit jacket over the chair next to the desk. His clear dark eye roamed over the classroom as he stood with his left hand pushed into the pocket of his black slacks, his right hand loosening the black tie around his neck. "Class has now started." His voice was low yet commanding, and instantly everyone in the class quieted. "Welcome to History 2301, I'm Professor Auron." Roxas blinked, so this was the professor that sponsored Cloud's club. He looked like he lived up to all the hype Cloud gave him.

His greeting was short and practical, as he turned to pull a stack of yellow papers from his brief case. "Today's class will be shorter than it will be the rest of the year, so don't expect it all the time. I'll take role, go over the syllabus and then you can go. But I do fully expect you to have read chapter one of your assigned text book by Wednesday." He paused looking at the class. There was a moment of hesitation before a sudden eruption of shuffling as everyone in the class moved to pull out a pen and paper to relate the assignment, Professor Auron nodded his head and passed the syllabi out.

Roxas took his and handed the last one back to his twin, briefly glancing down at the yellow sheet as the professor went on to call out students names. Roxas gave a sigh as he got further down the list. He was naming last names, and not even really bothering with firsts too much. There was always one person that recognized his last name, often times more than one. He spared a glance sideways at the red head sitting next to him. For some reason he thought he knew who it would be this time.

His suspicions were confirmed when Professor Auron reached the 's' category and called out "Strife… Roxas?" he could see the Axel shift slightly from the corner of his eye as he raised his hand to acknowledge his presence, before the professor moved on to his twin. He didn't miss the few glances back at Sora and him from around the room.

He jumped slightly in surprise though when something, or someone rather, whispered in his ear. "Did he say your last name was Strife?" Axel asked in an undertone. Roxas turned his head slightly. The red head was watching him carefully through the corner of one eye with a quirked brow, so that his attention seemed to remain towards the front. The blonde sighed and nodded, leaning his elbow on the desk, and his chin on his hand as he starred forward. There was a pause. "As in Night Strife?"

Roxas gave another nod. "My father." He responded blandly, far to used to the conversation to care. It what you got when you're father had been one of the more famous musicians of the century, and who now produced for a major label.

Another pause, and a slight undertone of a laugh, "I'll definitely have to take up that offer on a duet then, test your skills." There was a grin to the voice as Axel shifted again, and returned to lean back in his chair, eyes glued to Professor Auron's back, but his mind drifted in a completely different direction than introduction to the syllabus he had passed out.

Roxas frowned slightly. Great another musician he'd have to convince to look at him for Roxas, not as Night Strife's son. His favorite game. He sighed and tried to focus his attention back onto the professor in front of him. "-cover many different topics, like why Agrabah and Kingdom Hearts are allies, but not on good terms yet…"

Axel snorted. "Because the country's full of idiots who like to vie for power over weak leaders?" he commented loud enough for the professor to hear.

Roxas's chin left his hand as he turned to look at the red head. Professor Auron stayed silent, waiting (and hoping) for someone to counter the young man. "Don't blame one instant hostile takeover from an pompous ass, excuse my language, on the entire country." Roxas countered airily, quirking a brow at the red head. He could hear his twin snicker slightly behind him.

Axel's vivid green eyes met Roxas's intense blue ones with a slight grin, making Roxas flush ever so lightly and realize that he had confronted the young man in front of the entire class and professor. Axel however, was already enjoying the beginning of this debate. "That one instant though is one of many, Jafar just happened to succeed."

Roxas tilted his head. "There's a lot more to the story than that, and there was a lot of corruption and so called magic involved." Roxas responded, waving one hand in explanation.

Axel gave a nod eyeing the blonde pointedly. "True, but that doesn't change the fact that he did succeed, and that there are several other's that still try for the throne."

"There are people like that in every country though, it doesn't make the country full of idiots."

"And we can discuss that when we get to the Agrabah War and Treaty, in Chapter 12." Auron interrupted, with a nod of his head. One corner of his mouth twitched up slightly in a well hidden smile. "But you two did just provide me with a perfect example of how I like my class to go. I want interaction from you, discussion, even debates. You wont learn things just from a text book and lecture alone." He explained as Roxas flushed darker and looked away from the red head. Professor Auron had gone back to explaining his syllabus as the blond leaned his chin back down onto his hand, giving one last side glance at the red head beside him.

Maybe this class wouldn't be as boring for Roxas as Sora thought.


	4. Chp4 Ready Steady Go

_Warning: Yaoi, several boy on boy parings. Be prepared._

_Disclaimer: I dont own Kingdom Hearts, Trust me, You would definately know it if I did_

_Authors Note: Wooooo another chapter. Sorry it took so long for me to update, life sucks. It's taken me a few months to get back on my feet, and get over a serious case of writer's block after finals. Which I assure was nothing BUT written work. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Please read and review, I love it!_

_Special thanks to my first two reviewers! Even if it is way past date:_

_And She Would Fall Xx: Thanks A lot. I didnt know how well this story was going to work out but I decided to go with it. :P Proud of the out come so far I must admit. Ah yes, vocab. Well I do try really hard on that, but I admit I'm not hype with the vocab, rather I like slang. Plus it doesnt help that no one that reads my work knows Kingdom Hearts very well (A sin? I thought so too). So I'm left to my own devices. Thanks for reading!_

_Suna's Assassin: Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoy it._

_ENJOY!!  
_

Chapter 4

Ready Steady Go

"So Sora was it? And Roxas?"

Both sets of bright blue eyes looked up at their names. Axel and his silver haired friend were waiting at the door for the twins after class ended. Axel smirked at the brief identical looks of confusion, exchanging a quirked brow with his friend. Finally Roxas gave a slight nod as he pulled his bag over his shoulder, but his twin smirked widely and gave an enthusiastic nod of his own. "What classes do you have next?" Riku asked curiously, his smile was small, barely there, but warm.

Sora gave a thoughtful look, then his face fell dramatically, emitting a loud groan. "Algebra." he muttered, scratching his head.

Both taller teens laughed, even Roxas managed a soft chuckle, shaking his head. "Do you know where to go?" Riku followed up with a questioning glance.

At that Sora flushed and punched his twin weakly in the chest, as his chuckles turned into snickers. "I know the building, I can definitely find it from there." He stated confidently, standing up straighter, trying to seem utterly confident, yet somehow bitterly failing. Sad fact is, Sora knew it, so he just grinned awkwardly and clasped his hands behind his head.

"What about you Roxas?" Axel piped in, turning to lead the way out of the classroom.

"Ensemble." Roxas replied easily, pulling out a piece of paper from his pocket, his blue eyes skimming over the printed words a moment before being stuffed unceremoniously back into his pocket.

The red head paused, then gave a feral grin that would make anyone it was directed at blush. For Roxas's part, he managed fairly well to hide the warmth that rushed to his cheeks, enough so that only his twin noted the redness and that was only because Sora knew his twin better than anyone. "Tifa was right." Roxas glanced up with a cool, questioning gaze. Axel swung an arm around the shorter blonde's shoulders. "We have ensemble together, how's that for luck?"

Roxas shrugged his shoulders, a rather weak attempt to throw Axel's arm off of him, but covered it up by waving a hand. "No surprise really, you're main instrument is the bass right? Mine's just the guitar." he stated airily.

"And vocals!" Sora interjected cheerfully, grinning majestically at the glare his twin sent his way.

"Right point being, I don't specialize in your instrument." Roxas continued as if the glare-turned-death-threat had passed between the two blue eyes. "So it's really not that big of a deal."

Riku laughed under his breath, before nudging Sora with an elbow. "Come on kid, I'll show you to your classroom. I have Calculus." he told the brown headed teen, pointing to a short brick building the opposite direction Roxas and Axel had turned towards.

There was another groan, as Sora immediately latched onto his brother's arm. "Rox! Don't make me go!" he complained, a distinct pout forming on his face. The blonde quirked one fine brown, yet another threat passing between them though this time even Riku and Axel took note of it. "Gah don't have to get you're panties in a wad, I was just joking!" Sora exclaimed throwing his hands in the air turning to follow Riku. "See you after lunch bro! Oh and keep an eye out for Kairi and Namine, they said they'd tried to meet up with us today!" he voiced, trotting off after the silver haired man with a wave.

Kairi and Namine, or the other set of twins, as Roxas's mom liked to refer to the as were life time friends. Sora and Roxas had known the two girls since they were quite literally in diapers. Their mother's had taken Lamaze classes together and had apparently become fast friends. The two girls had moved away to Traverse Town the summer before their junior year of high school. Of course considering how close Kairi and Sora were, they heard from the other set of twins almost every day, twice on some occasions. As luck would have it (if you could consider female manipulation of parents to coerce them into attending a university far from home luck) both girls got accepted into Kingdom University.

Axel chuckled under his breath, turning as Roxas did to walk slowly towards the Commercial Music building where their class was going to be held. "So you said that you don't specialize in the bass, I take it that means while you don't play exclusively, that you do still play it." He asked curiously watching the blonde out of the corner of his eye.

Roxas nodded his head slowly. "Yeah, kinda, not the double bass though."

"Why not?" This time Roxas flushed quite visibly, murmuring something into his shoulder as he turned his head to hide the flush. "What's that?"

The blonde coughed, trying to look more dignified than he felt. "It's too big for me to handle."

Axel gave barking laughing, reaching over to ruffle the blonde's hair. "Oh well, no harm no foul, if you could play that too I have to admit I'd feel slightly intimidated." he proclaimed enthusiastically. Roxas swatted his hand away with a roll of his eyes, not bothering to hide the glare he sent the red head's way. Either Axel ignored it or he didn't bother to acknowledge it in favor of continuing on jovially. "So what other instruments do you play?"

Roxas winced he hated questions like that, because no matter how he answered them, it always sounded like he was bragging, and if this guy was in his music classes, he couldn't very well lie. He gave a one shouldered shrug, trying very hard to seem nonchalant. "Oh you know a few here and there."

The red head turned searching, yet oh so very deep, green eyes over to his walking partner, and once more, for what seemed like the hundredth time already, Roxas wondered what kind of drugs Axel took to make his green eyes so intense. "That's a very detailed answer." Axel replied sarcastically.

"I didn't know the question required details." Roxas countered easily.

There was a snort in reply. "Well usually a question like that asks for specifics. -I- was asking for specifics." Axel amended, almost seeming a bit too patient with the blonde. The Commercial Music building loomed before him, so Axel pulled the door open, pausing for Roxas to enter before him.

The blonde hesitated ever so slightly before standing up straighter and walking in. "Like what?" he asked glancing around him. He was familiar with the building on the outside from the tour a few days before, but the inside was new territory. While the inside of the building was professional, like someone would expect, it also had an oddly familiar warm and welcoming feeling, like he belonged there. The students loitering about were literally all ranges of stereotypes, including the tall kid with an equally tall bright green Mohawk that made Axel's vivid red hair look normal.

Axel sighed. "Like… the piano. Can you play the piano?"

Roxas nodded. "Oh yeah, technically the first thing I learned. Mom wouldn't let dad teach us the guitar until we had the basic piano knowledge." He stated rolling his eyes. "I think I remember her saying something along the lines of the piano being a instrument that would get you more brownie points with girls. And it'd get you farther in life… or something like that."

"Well then I have to say that you're mother is a very agreeable woman." A cool voice said, almost directly behind Roxas. The blonde squeaked slightly in surprise, turning around on the spot. The two guys standing behind him were definitely one of a kind. The man closest to him had oddly colored, long, gray hair, parted to the side, the long strands covering half of his face. One dark eye watched him carefully, Roxas had the distinct impression that he was watching and calculating Roxas's every move, including every blink. His arms were crossed over his chest, where he was wearing a purplish-blue shirt, a black jacket and black jeans.

The taller guy standing behind the gray haired one looked almost just as remarkable. He had blonde hair almost the same color as Roxas's if not a bit darker, but was cut sheered at the sides, the top and back, longer, and sticking up, despite a few long strands that hung into his light blue eyes. He wore a tan shirt, with a detailed tribal design at the side, centering around a vivid blue rose, and a pair of dark, faded jeans. There was a cloth guitar case swung casually over his shoulder as if it always belonged there. When Roxas's blue eyes turned to inspect him, he grinned and waved.

When Roxas didn't say anything, the gray haired quirked his one visible brow. "Who's you're friend Axel?" he asked in that same cool voice from before. Apparently he had been the one to speak, Roxas should have taken that for granted, that voice didn't sound like it could have belonged to the warmer young man behind him.

The red head propped his elbow on Roxas's shoulder, linking his ankles casually. "Oh right, Zexion, this is Roxas. Roxas this is Zexion," he pointed to the gray haired man, "and Demyx." his finger shifted to point towards the blonde.

The blonde, Demyx, laughed lightly and slapped Axel's hand. "It's not nice to point Axel." he voiced in an almost sing song air.

Zexion's attention however, -still- hadn't left Roxas, which made the blonde shift uncomfortably on his feet. It felt like he was being scrutinized for interrogation. "It's a pleasure meeting you Roxas." He stated with an ever so slight incline of his head.

Roxas ran a hand through his hair. "Likewise I think." he murmured, stepping sideways out from under the red head's elbow. Axel spluttered in surprise grabbing the wall next to him to keep from falling flat on his face.

Again that one visible brow raised. "Roxas is in ensemble with us!" Axel interrupted after he gained his bearings, running his hand through his hair.

At that Demyx's eyes light up, finally becoming curious in the boy standing before him. "Oh really? What do you play?" he asked, almost in the same tone as before. It took Roxas a moment to realize that it must have been the blonde mohawked kid's normal way of speaking.

"Guitar-" Roxas started before Axel's voice pierced through.

"And bass, and piano, sings too, But I haven't gotten anything else out of him, which was what I was trying to do when you to trapezed up." He stated, crossing his arms with a pointed stare.

Zexion gave a sophisticated roll of his eyes. "How do you know he plays anything else?"

"Cause his twin was mighty exaggerate on Roxas's talent."

It was Roxas's turn to roll his eyes, adding a wave of his hand. "You shouldn't believe everything Sora tells you."

Axel quirked one red brow with a slight smirk. "He didn't seem like the type to lie."

Roxas snorted internally, of course Axel would think that, Sora seemed to be the epitome of all things naïve and innocent. Roxas naturally knew better. His twin had a optimistic view on life, he was kind and highly gullible, would do anything for anyone he knew and trusted and was rather protective. Over all the kid had a typical good nature, but he also had his moments, his dark secrets, like every normal teenager. "Yeah, but Sora also likes to brag. A lot."

The red head rolled his eyes. "Point being, I know there's more."

Demyx eyed his fellow blonde curiously. "How?"

There was a shrug in response via Axel, while Roxas sighed, adverting his eyes. Here it goes, soon Axel would be bragging about how Roxas was the son of a famous musician, which ensured that he had every musical talent under the sun, which wasn't true. He couldn't play the flute, or trumpet, or any kind of wind instrument to be exact. "I just do." The red head stated knowingly. Roxas looked over, surprise evident on his face, Axel just winked and clapped the shorter blonde male on the back. "Well we're going to be late for class!" he exclaimed, grabbing Roxas's and Demyx's arm, pulling them down a long white hallway.

He stopped at a large, windowless purple door and unceremoniously kicked it open, pushing Roxas inside. The blonde stumbled forward, but caught himself, making it look like he strolled in with a sense of wayward graze. He froze though when he realized there were already two other people in the padded room. Not padded as in I'm-insane-and-am-now-in-a-padded-room-for-my-safety kind of padded room, but the simple sound proofing kind. There were a set of drums set up in one corner, a clear sound shield set up in front of it, as well as various guitars, mics, and other pieces of necessary sound equipment laying about. To the far side of the room there was a set of desks and a large white board set up in a mock-classroom setting.

There was a girl and another male already sitting in the room. The girl was sitting backwards in one of the desks, her arms crossed over the back of the chair, and her chin resting in her forearms. She had short light blonde hair, brushed back, except for her 'bangs' which didn't seem to want to be slicked back, and oddly reminded Roxas of antenna. Her intense gray eyes were sweeping idly over Roxas, to the three men standing behind him.

Roxas glanced at the taller guy behind her and felt his brow twitch ever so slightly, the first thing that his eyes were drawn to were the large sideburns at the side of his face. Over all the man was large muscular and almost intimidating, despite the huge sideburns. He had tan skin and long black dreaded hair pulled into a high ponytail. There was an almost emotionless, or was it bored, feel to the man's dark eyes as they watched the new comers. He was leaning back against the white board, his large muscular arms crossed over an equally muscular chest.

The tall man quirked one fuzzy dark brow. "New kid?"

Axel strolled past Roxas casually, his hands pushed into the pockets of his jeans. "Yep. Roxas, this is Larxene and Xaldin. Play nice!."

"You all already know each other?" Roxas asked, blinking as Zexion and Demyx followed Axel into the actual class room part of the room. Zexion sat down casually behind Larxene, who moved the desk so she could see everyone. Demyx gingerly set down his guitar before collapsing into the desk beside Zexion dramatically.

Light laughter followed Roxas's question. "Of course, we've been together for a year now Roxas, you quite literally are the new kid."

Roxas tilted his head slightly and then shrugged, turning to leaning against the wall, rubbing his neck. "So Cox-" Larxene began,

"Roxas." Axel and Roxas corrected at the same time.

"Right, Roxas, that's what I said. Anyway, Roxas, you're a freshman right?"

Roxas shifted his gaze away from the group sitting in front of him, all four consequently had their eyes on him. "Sophomore… technically." he muttered, scuffing his foot against the ground so he could miss the looks they exchanged.

"I thought Reno said you just graduated." Axel commented.

The short blonde shrugged. "I did… I took a lot of duel credit courses." he replied idly.

Demyx laughed. "Oh, so there's a smart one in our midst!" he exclaimed.

Roxas flushed in response. Man he hated it when he sounded like he was bragging, call him humble if you will, hell you could even call him submissive (thought it wouldn't be recommended, not to his face at any rate, not unless you wanted blunt key blades up your… well you get the drift) but he hated it when attention like that was turned on him. He supposed it was from a life time of having a famous father, having people on the streets who knew his name, but he didn't know them, ON top of having some of your father's talents. THEN expected to surpass your father? Of course, the meekness all came with that, it got tiring after the first ten years. "No not really, the classes at my high school were super easy." he stated.

The blonde thanked the stars above and whatever happened to be beyond them when the door opened, effectively stopping the conversation all together. He breathed a sigh of relief, but eyed the tall older man that had entered the room curiously. He assumed that this was Professor Ansem, from what his schedule said, the head professor of the Commercial Music department. Someone his father spoke highly of. The man had long white -blonde blonde hair, and a trim goatee of the same color. His face was fierce, but added a severe wizened look to him. He crossed his arms and eyed one of them in turn, the narrow gray orbs finally resting, and lingering on Roxas, who shifted slightly under the gaze. "Roxas right?"

The blonde nodded. "Nice to meet you sir. My father talks highly of you." Well there went not having a lot of questions. Roxas thought glancing over hat his classmates.

There was a deep chuckle in response. "I should expect so. We worked together for at least two years."

Roxas blinked. "Really? I didn't know that. He didn't really tell me."

Ansem's eyes seemed to bore deeper into Roxas then, which resulted in the boy uncharacteristically flushing (you might think it wasn't too characteristic at this point, but Axel had a strange effect on him that was unlike anything he had ever encountered before). "Night was always a harboring person. Something I imagine you and your brothers inherited. Especially what I have seen of Cloud." He stated. Roxas responded by simply shrugging, adverting his eyes again as Ansem finally turned to everyone else. "Well welcome to another year of ensemble. It's the same spew as last semester. We'll play covers, if you want to play one of your own songs, make sure it's good and everyone else likes it, then present it to me like you would any recording agency. Over the course of the semester you will learn ten songs, and perform five at the Christmas concert as your final in front of a panel of judges. Axel I'm assigning you to Roxas to show him the ropes. Roxas you have questions, you ask Axel, unless the idiot doesn't know then ask Zexion or Xemnas. Of course you can always come to me, but as a 'band' you need to get to know you're fellow members, I figure this will be the easiest way. Got it?"

Roxas glanced at Axel briefly, unsure if he should be nervous or not. Everyone else seemed perfectly at ease, Axel was grinning widely, so he turned and nodded. Ansem smirked slightly. "Great, alright, based on you're upbringing Roxas, as well as that so called audition that everyone goes through before they're placed in their respective ensemble, I assume that you can play pretty much every instrument in this room?" Ansem continued, now directing his complete attention to the short blonde.

"Yeah.." Roxas muttered, his opinion of the professor slowly going downhill. Was it really necessary for him to voice that to everyone else? Especially since he knew they were going into this already assigned to their individual parts.

"Good alright, Larxene you are vocals of course, Roxas you are Vocals and guitar, but Demyx is guitar vocals, understand? That means that Roxas and Larxene are lead vocals, while Demyx is lead guitar, but Demyx will back you in voice while Roxas you will back Demyx with the guitar." All three nodded when he paused briefly. "Xaldin drums. Axel you're on bass, and Zexion on piano." Again three nods. "Great, alright. Next time each of you pick a song, bring a sample disc and sheet music and you will vote on what song you're going to start learning. Now get out of my sight, I'll see you on Wednesday." And with that he turned and strolled out of the room without so much as another word.

Roxas blinked eyeing the door that swung shut behind the blonde man. "Is… Is he always like that?" he asked blandly.

All four laughed. "Yeah, he's kinda too the point. Patient though, you have to be really bad to get him frustrated." Axel explained stretching his arms above his head before fixing his piercing green gaze on Roxas. "So prodigy, are you going to give us an example?"

Roxas decidedly did not flush, from either that gaze or the sudden attention ONCE again on him. "No not today, I'd rather have my own things, I'm picky." He lied, rubbing his neck again.

"So what kind of upbringing DID you have?" Demyx asked curiously.

The other blonde shrugged, fidgeting with the bottom of his t-shirt. "Oh you know, a music family." he replied absently, trying to appear painfully apathetic. They would obviously find out eventually, and Roxas was completely intent drawing that out as long as possible.

"What kind-"

"SO Roxas, want to go get some coffee while we wait for Riku and Sora to get out of class?"

Roxas could have seriously kissed Axel for that interruption, of course he didn't voice that out loud, terrified that the thought crossed his mind and he genuinely meant it. Instead he settled for a grateful look and nodding vigorously. "Yeah, coffee sounds great!" he exclaimed, instantly turning towards the door.

Axel exchanged an amused glance with Demyx and Zexion and met the kid at the door. "See you guys later!" he waved. Roxas turned and gave a simple wave before bounding out of the door.

--

Roxas and Axel spent the next hour and a half sitting at a round table in the café literally talking about nothing but music, drinking coffee and waiting for Sora and Riku to get out of their respective math classes. "What about Rumbling Rose." Axel questioned leaning forward curiously. They had been arguing over, and comparing favorite bands for the past hour. As it turned out, Axel worked in a local record store and knew his music business, almost as much as Roxas himself.

Roxas made a disgusted face. "Uh, no. I have a great dislike of them."

Axel looked like he was going to have an aneurism for a moment. "WHAT? How can you hate them? Their music is amazing. I swear that guitarist is like a magician the way he plays!" he exclaimed incredulously.

Roxas held up one finger so Axel paused. "I didn't say I hated them. They are good musicians, so there's one point, but only one. They're all a bunch of conceited jerks." he replied calmly.

Axel snorted. "You say that like you know them." He stated. Roxas just blinked at him quirking one blonde brow. "You know them?"

Roxas sighed and nodded, resting his chin in his hand. "Yeah, they're signed under my dad's label."

The red head flung himself back into his chair racking a hand through the crimson locks. "Man I'm so jealous of you, it's not even cool." He exclaimed with a breathy sigh.

Roxas chuckled. "It's not that great really, it kind of get's tiring after a while. The experience is nice though. Maybe you can come with me sometime when I go to work." He offered lazily, watching the red head under lidded eyes.

The excitement that flashed through those green eyes were like a five year olds on Christmas morning when Santa brought him a train set AND the latest video game console. "Really? Oh my Heart Roxas you're my hero!"

"Wow Rox, you havent even been at school a day, and already you have yourself an admirer. Don't tell me you're turning into me!"

Axel looked up at the voice with a wide grin, but Roxas didn't even bother. If he didn't recognize his older brother's patronizing voice, who would? "Heaven, I hope not!" Roxas exclaimed as Cloud sat down next to his brother, Cloud's friend, the stony silent Leon, sitting next on the other side. "I don't fancy being skilled at running around waving my sword." he replied sardonically.

Cloud snorted, unaffected by the obvious innuendo. "It's better than sitting around all day strumming my instrument." he countered, to which Roxas grinned and rolled his eyes. "Uh-oh, here comes Sora. He looks like a tornado hit, what happened?"

"Algebra class."

Cloud gave a groan and a knowing nod as the short brunette approached and dramatically flopped into one of the café's chairs, nearly knocking it on it's back, then slamming his head onto the table. Riku wasn't far behind, sitting gracefully down beside Axel with a wide grin. "Oh come off it Sora, it could not have been that bad."

"OH it was horrible! We already have two pages of homework to do! Professor Daisy actually lectured!" he complained slamming his head against the table again. "Rinoa extended my dead line to Wednesday! And I procrastinated!"

Rosas snorted. "Oh go figure." he muttered earning a glare from his twin who looked up briefly.

"Who's Rinoa and what deadline?" Axel questioned curiously.

"HEY Rox! Did you know that Riku's an artist too? How amazing is that?" Sora exclaimed suddenly cheerful again, giving no inclination to whether he heard Axel's question or not.

Roxas didn't bat an eye at the change of subject, far too used to it to care. Cloud however glanced at the three strangers with a slight grin. Axel and Riku exchanged curious glances, the glint in Axel's eye, if he was anything like his brother, meant that Axel would get down to the nitty gritty and find out exactly what had the brunette so jumpy, whether it killed him or not. They do say curiosity killed the cat. As odd as it was to compare Axel to a cat, it was a fitting metaphor. Leon looked rather bemused by the antics, but Cloud assumed that Leon knew Cloud would probably tell his fast friend eventually.

He had only met Leon last semester, and already Leon was becoming one of his best friends, not on Zack or Aerith's level of course, but pretty close. They just seemed to hit it off instantly, and within a week it was like they had known each other for years. What Cloud liked most about spending time with the scarred brunette was that they could sit for hours in comfortable silence, or the fact they could practically have an entire conversation without saying one word.

"That's cool. Are you an art major Riku?" Roxas asked tilting his head slightly.

The handsome silver haired boy shook his head. "Business actually. My dream is to own a gallery one day."

"Isnt that amazing?" Sora laughed. "MY dream is to have my art sold in a gallery one day!"

Both Roxas and Cloud laughed. "I thought your dream was to have your art known all over the world, and showcased in museums." Cloud asked with a grin.

Sora huffed slightly. "Well you have to start off small." he explained waving his hand.

Cloud leaned close to Roxas's ear, so that only the blonde boy could hear his whispered words. "I think Sora has a crush." he muttered under his breath.

Roxas gave his older brother a sharp look with a slight hiss. "Shush." he murmured waving Cloud's face away.

"Roxas?" Sora gave his brother's a worried glance but didn't get down to his interrogation when someone squealed in an awfully familiar high pitched voice and his mouth was covered by arms thrown around his neck, leaving the brunette to flail about with a loud "ARMPH!"

Sora's blonde twin laughed loudly in surprise as the red headed girl who attacked his brother squealed straight into Sora's ear once more. As far as he knew Kairi, their long time friend, wasn't quite THAT excitable, but he supposed it was about something seeing your best friend after what seemed like five lifetimes. The blonde boy turned to glance behind the struggling couple to see a quieter blonde girl standing not two feet from her twin sister. Namine's smile was excited but, she was of course the calmer of the two, like Roxas to Sora. Her blonde hair was twisted over her shoulder like he rembered, turquoise eyes shining in amusement. Of course she was wearing white, as always. Her white flowing skirt twirled around her legs as she moved was accompanied by a pale pink tank top. "Hey Namine!" he waved with an excited smile of his own.

Namine walked over, hugging him tightly, resting her sketch pad (something she never went ANYWHERE without) on the table. "How are you Roxas?"

"Great! I'm glad to see you. How are you?"

Namine laughed lightly. "The same." she replied, as Kairi finally released Roxas's struggling brother after at least the third 'Kairi I cant breath!' could be heard. Axel and Riku looked slightly surprised ,but more amused than anything. Cloud, far to used to it to be effected, crossed his arms and leaned his chair onto the two back legs as he watched. Leon again, looked bemused, though almost slightly annoyed.

"Leon!" Kairi suddenly started whining. "You didn't tell me that you knew Sora and Roxas!" She exclaimed, which made Sora blink in confusion.

The scarred brunette shrugged slightly. "I technically didn't until last weekend." he replied apathetically, ignoring the glare Kairi was sending his way.

"You know Leon Kairi?" Sora asked looking up at his best friend who still had a tight grip on his neck.

Kairi snorted. "Of course I know him, he's my brother silly! Didn't you ever pay attention? I thought that was Roxas's job." she explained squeezing Sora's shoulders slightly.

Sora still looked confused so Namine reached over to pat his head comfortingly. "Leon lived with dad a majority of the time, so it's no surprise you don't remember." she interpreted lightly. Kairi, Namine and Leon's mother and father had divorced when both sets of twins were only five, taking the eight year old Leon with him, practically across the country. Even back then Leon had been his stoic and quiet self.

"So big brother Leon is Cloud's friend Leon." Roxas stated before shrugging. "Small world. This university is full of ironies." He stated, taking a sip of his by now cold coffee. Axel coughed, quirking a brow at the blonde. Roxas blinked for a moment then grinned. "Oh right, sorry . Kari, Namine, these are our new friends, guys these two girls are-"

"My best friends!" Sora exclaimed happily when Kairi finally released him to plop down into his lap. Kairi looked a lot like Namine, the way Sora looked like Roxas. They had the same teal colored eyes and pale skin. Kairi's dark red hair, however, was shorter, with soft layers that framed her face gently. Kairi herself was wearing a pair of fitting jeans and a purple blouse, with a large, black stone, heart-shaped necklace.

Namine bowed her head. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Namine."

The red head put two fingers to his forehead in, what Roxas assumed was some kind of wayward salute. "My name's Axel. A-X-E-L. Got it Memorized?" he grinned.

Riku slapped his shoulder lightly and gave a wave of his own. "I'm Riku, pleased to meet you."

"Oh! I'm Kairi!" the red head exclaimed bouncing on Sora's lap with a grin.

The brunette groaned. "Ow Kairi, be still! Gee what'd you do? If I didn't know any better you touched the forbidden drink."

At that the red headed girl flushed and gave her best friend the best innocent look she could muster. "Why my dear Sora I don't know what you're talking about!"

Sora gaped. "YOU DID! You traitor, you had an espresso didn't you?"

"A double shot too." Namine offered.

Kairi shot her twin a glare. "Now who's the traitor."

A majority of the occupants of the table laughed, before Riku made a slow act of standing, stretching his arms above his head. Sora looked up at his new friend, pointedly trying to ignore the way the pale man's shirt road up and revealed fine tuned abs. "What's up Riku?"

"I have an art class to get to." He replied easily, picking up his backpack to swing over his shoulder.

Namine brightened. "Really? With Professor Minnie?" Riku nodded. "Me too!"

At that Sora swore loudly, earning a reproachful glare from several patrons sitting around them, as he pushed Kairi off his lap, making her squawk as he dug hurriedly through his bag. "Crap! I think I do too! Aw man… I didn't even realize that my classes were back to back today! UG!" he complained pulling a crumpled piece of paper out of it's refuge in his bag up to his eyes, scrutinizing it for a long moment before groaning again. "Yep I do." he sighed and stood. "Well there goes lunch." He muttered.

Namine laughed lightly, taking Sora's hand. "Oh come on Sora, this is art we're talking about, you know you've been looking forward to this!"

"Yeah, but I was looking forward to eating lunch too!"

Riku chuckled, clapping him on the back. "Well it looks like next time you'll have to be faster." he explained as Namine began to pull him out of the café.

"Bye guys! I'll see you after class!" he waved before looking at Riku who was following him with one hand pushed into the pockets of his jeans. "Wow Riku, that's like two classes we have together already, it's like fate or something!" The brunette's exclamation was heard as Sora's voice trailed off in his exit.

Kairi laughed as well, as she brushed her clothes off where Sora had pushed her onto the ground. "and I have a theatre class, I figured we'd stop in to see Leon. I'm glad we found you guys."

Roxas nodded with a warm smile. "Me too. We'll see you soon Kairi!" She grinned and waved running off, before Roxas groaned suddenly, hugging his face in his hands. "What's up Rox?" Cloud asked leaning forward to pat Roxas's shoulder.

"I'm done for the day… I just realized that that means I have to wait around for HOURS for you two to get out of class." he complained leaning back in his chair.

Cloud chuckled. "Yeah… My last class isn't for another thirty minutes." he stated glancing down at his watch. "Sorry Rox, well at least this means you have PLENTY of time to do you're studies. Mom would be happy."

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Like I wouldn't do it anyway. We really should have planned this better."

"You could walk home." Cloud replied quirking a brow.

"Cant you just let me complain without retaliation?"

Axel laughed loudly, reaching over to ruffle Roxas's hair. "Kid you're funny. I'm done for the day too, so how bout I keep you company?"

Roxas glanced up at him thoughtfully, again resisting the second confusing urge that day to kiss the red head with thanks, then shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant, and actually managing quite well. "Alright, sounds good."

"Sweet, I'll show you the town directly next to campus, you have to see my store!" he exclaimed standing, and grabbing Roxas's bag to thrust into the short blonde's lap.

Roxas laughed and glanced at his brother who was watching him with a wide grin. Roxas pointedly chose to ignore any meaning that Cloud's grin could have possibly meant. "Call me when you get out of class." Cloud nodded with a wave. "See you later." Roxas turned and followed the red head out of the café.

He was beginning to wonder if he could possibly consider Axel his Guardian angel.


End file.
